Lions need to find a kicker

Posted by Michael David Smith on April 15, 2014, 11:41 AM EDT

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The Lions aren’t accustomed to needing to search for a kicker. From 1980 to 1991 they had Eddie Murray, and from 1992 to 2012 they had Jason Hanson, giving them more than three decades of stability at the position.

But David Akers won’t be back after one shaky season in 2013, and that means the Lions are on the hunt for a new kicker. They have two on the roster right now, John Potter and Giorgio Tavecchio, but special teams coordinator John Bonamego says the search for a kicker is far from over.

“The No. 1 thing we need to do is find a kicker,” Bonamego said. “From a scouting standpoint, it’s our top priority in my department. We have two guys on the roster right now that both have some experience. We’ll evaluate those guys in this upcoming period and we’ll compare them to the guys that are coming up in the draft, the draft-eligible guys, and we’ll find one.”

Twice last season Detroit lost close games in which Akers missed key field goals. It’s vital for the Lions to find someone better this year. Preferably someone with staying power, so the Lions can go back to having stability at kicker.

This could be a good year for UDFA Kickers so you don’t necessarily have to draft one, plus there could be a few decent ones passed around like there have been in recent years. If they don’t think there’s a stud Kicker in this draft then they already have mentioned reasonably strong confidence in the 2 they already have to compete for that spot enough to hold down the fort for a year if need be.

criticaldsj says:Apr 15, 2014 11:58 AM

They should have kept David Ranyer over Hanson when he outkicked Hanson during the 2011 training camp.

But sentimentality wins out every time with incompetent front offices, so….

They didn’t give kickalicious a chance because the old regime thought Akers was more suited to “win now” to save their jobs vs going with the ups and downs of an unproven rookie. I say bring him back, he showed plenty during the preseason, and if I remember correctly was better than Akers anyway.

Please though, Lions fans, smarten up. The guy can’t kick the ball out of the endzone off of a tee (-1) and he can’t kick a 50+ yard field goal consistently (-1) and he definitely can’t ever kick a 60 yard field goal (-1).

Get a guy that can kick the ball long and accurately with consistency. Don’t mess around with Kickalicious.

Sorry Lions fans…I loved the story too, but the guy wasn’t, and isn’t, very good.